Deadpool 2 Film Review
Bigger and Meta!
Last week marked a momentous occasion, when a famous redhead joined forces with an African-American starlet, in a must-see event that captured the world’s attention…
No, not them! I’m talking about these 2…
See what I did there? I subverted your expectations. Something Deadpool 2 does a lot. Way better than Star Wars: The Last Jedi! It’s also better at sneaking pop-culture references like the one I just dropped!
Deadpool is fully aware of the other films in his genre, he refers to them constantly! Even films that are not! If you thought the last film had way too many obscure references, this one turns it up to eleven…
This self awareness works in its favour. By now, the audience is fully aware of what to expect and can play along, spotting the familiar tropes when they happen. Even Deadpool helps in pointing them out!!!
You can almost see him winking behind his mask. We giggle, even if we don’t get the reference, glad to be let in on the joke. Perhaps that’s what makes the character so appealing. He’s with us for the ride…
I was genuinely shocked in the first few scenes. Not because I didn’t recognise the tropes (it’s pretty standard stuff), but because I didn’t expect to see them this time around. The trailers are a ruse!!!
I should’ve seen it coming. The setups are all too familiar, but Deadpool 2 uses their familiarity to shock us when things don’t go to plan, which leads me to…
The Story
Deadpool 2 markets itself as a story about family, and it’s true. The last film was similarly advertised as a messed up romance. The sequel offers its own f’d up version of family for us to laugh at, like Roseanne… but watchable.
It’s a clever and unexpected approach to take for the character of Deadpool. Wade Wilson always seemed like a bit of a superhero outsider, never fitting in or wanting to be part of any group. Mainly because they’d never allow him!
This film goes the opposite direction, while still staying true to the character. Cleverly providing a vulnerability for the otherwise invulnerable Deadpool.
The story is pretty straightforward, but if I tell you how it starts, it ruins the surprise! I’ll just say that the plot is not really that important. What matters are the twisted scenarios our hero finds himself in that’s just ripe for humour, like these buns…
Okay… I’ll give you a brief overview. A man arrives from the future named Cable (because Wireless doesn’t sound threatening enough) to murder a kid Deadpool deems worthy of saving. That’s all you need to know.
At some stage Deadpool forms his own “Super” Dopinder group of wacky heroes. Let’s meet a few of them now…
The Cast
Deadpool is Ryan Reynolds…
…or is it the other way around? Doesn’t matter. That’s how good he is in this role! The actor’s real life sense of humour is so in line with Deadpool’s that it’s hard to separate the two.
The film exploits the audience’s knowledge of Reynolds less than stellar filmography and makes it a running gag. It’s almost as if Reynolds made a string of bad films on purpose! Just so he could make fun of them when he eventually landed this role!
Reynolds was born to play Deadpool! I know… I keep saying people are born to play roles. Let’s see… Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Robert Downey Jr. as Iron-Man and we can now add Reynolds to the list.
He brings his A game this time around. Providing “maximum effort” in the comedic moments as well as some surprising emotional beats. Speaking of…
Zazie Beetz is Domino…
Some fans are upset that she’s been racebended from the comics. Hopefully, this shuts them up. Beetz looks great and I like how they’ve depicted her powers, she’s a walking Final Destination.
She claims her power is luck, which Deadpool determines is not a power. I have to agree with her here, luck is definitely a power and it’s literally a lifesaver here!
Someone else who’s on a bit of a lucky streak is Josh Brolin as Thanos…
Sorry, I mean Cable!!!
These cinematic universes are confusing. Even Deadpool can’t keep up! Brolin is currently sitting tall (although he’s only 5′ 10'’ as Deadpool points out) as one of the leads in the top two films on the box office leaderboard!
As Thanos, they adjusted his height so that he’d loom over the Avengers. Deadpool 2 proves the actor doesn’t need it to look threatening, which is a good thing because they don’t have the budget!
Rounding out the main cast is Julian Dennison as the self-proclaimed “plus size” teen superhero, Firefist…
The youngstar shines brightly as the kid who needs saving. Some of you may recognise him as the kid from Hunt for the Wilderpeople, a similar role. The Kiwi actor is only 15 years old, but can hold his own amongst Hollywood heavyweights.
As for the supporting cast…
Colossus is a hunk of metal and provides solid backup. Teenage Mutant Negasonic or whatever her name is, is fine. There really isn’t any character who isn’t good. Maybe because they’re not in it that much. The real star is Ryan Reynolds. Okay, maybe this guy’s pretty lame…
Technical Aspects
The soundtrack is noteworthy…
Like X-Force, it’s quite an eclectic mix. Celine Dion lends her Titanic vocals to the song Ashes…
And there’s a thunderous good use of ACDC’s Thunderstruck in a parachuting scene that must be seen to be believed.
As for the action, it’s just as ballsy and in your face…
…as it’s predecessor. Gory too. The fight choreography could’ve been a bit better. Especially since the director, David Leitch, is one of the guys responsible for John Wick… and ultimately responsibile for killing his dog!
There’s some clever use of Deadpool’s resistance to dying that comes in handy. As well as a final “CGI battle” that’s straight out of the comics. Fans won’t see it coming. Try to keep tightlipped if you know what happens #CableDemandsYourSilence…
Like this review, this film can sometimes feel like a drag…
Some of the gags outstay their welcome, but you take the good with the bad. When the jokes land, they really land!
The Wade is Over…
Deadpool 2 rolls out the big guns… or should I say fibre optic Cable? The mid-credits scenes got the loudest laughs by far and are riddled with meta…
There are also some blink and you’ll miss it cameos to look out for. Those are fun. Some might find a few characters get wasted in service of the plot…. what plot?
“That’s just lazy writing” — Deadpool
Everything that happens in this film is in pursuit of the gag!!! The plot is just a vehicle to get you there…
Make no mistake, this film is a comedy. That’s not to say the action is lacking or…
“Not very cinematic.” — Deadpool
It’s just second to the humour. As for the humour, it’s a little on the nose…
Especially any scenes involving Negasonic’s girlfriend pictured above or Dopinder below. It’s unfortunate.
Trying to place Deadpool 2 in the X-Men timeline is an impossible feat. This chapter only makes it worse! Where does it fit in? It doesn’t. That’s what makes it so unique.
Credit must go to Deadpool for his refusal to be put in a box…
In an age of nonstop superhero films, there’s nothing quite like it. In terms of ranking, I’ll place it only slightly above the original. Mainly for the mid-credits!!!
3.5 out of 5 Star Wars references
Thanks for reading. If you wanna pull a Cable and go back in time…
